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Week 12 Quick Reads

by Vincent Verhei

To the surprise of nobody who watched Sunday's game between the Steelers and Seahawks, Russell Wilson was one of the best quarterbacks in Week 12. That will happen when you throw for five touchdowns and average 11.6 yards per pass. With five third-down conversions with 10 or more yards to go, Wilson was like an action hero, always saving the day when all hope seemed lost, like a John McClain or Captain America clad in College Navy and Action Green.

On other occasions, though, Wilson was like Frank Drebin or Condorman, stumbling and pratfalling his way around the field and making the worst out of good situations. Weirdly, Wilson fared much better on third-and-long than he did on shorter third-down throws. On third down with 5 yards or less to go for a first down, he went 1-of-4 for minus-1 yard and (obviously) no conversions. With 6 or more yards to go, he went 7-of-7 for 171 yards, with one sack and six conversions, including touchdowns of 16 and 80 yards.

And as it turns out, this is nothing new for Wilson, who has been very good in third-and-long this year, but has struggled in third-and-short -- or, more accurately, in third-and-medium. Here are Wilson's third-down splits this year, along with a league-wide average for all players: